Meet Cathy Macdonald

Cathy's story

Cathy MacDonald barely remembers that first Easter after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at just four years old.

“I have a few memories of being in the hospital,” says Cathy, who currently lives with her husband and their daughter in Sackville, Nova Scotia.

She does, however, remember her mother’s trembling hands giving the daily injections of insulin – a routine she would adhere to for the rest of her life.

By the time Cathy reached her mid-twenties, tiny blood vessels were forming on the back of her eyes, and she needed laser treatments to control their growth. Eventually the retinas began to pull away, and she developed diabetic retinopathy.

“I was aware of diabetes complications, but it seemed so distant because I didn’t know anyone who had experienced serious complications,” says Cathy. “If you cheat on your diet, you also don’t see the consequences immediately. You cheat more and more, and eventually it becomes a habit.”

Operations to correct the condition were unsuccessful, and by the age of 27, Cathy was totally blind. Luckily, she was introduced to CNIB shortly after losing her sight.

“I got through rehabilitation fairly quickly,” she says.

With the skills she learned from CNIB, Cathy earned a diploma in human services and went on to work with people with disabilities. Cathy was also an active volunteer with CNIB where she helped others adjust to the challenges of vision loss.

My advice to you

“Make the right choices for yourself. Life is about choices and so often we make the wrong ones. Think about the long-term implications. Complications do happen and diabetes is very serious, but you can manage it and there is help out there.”

How CNIB helped me

“At the time I lost my vision, I was working at a job I didn’t enjoy and my employer was not interested in making my work environment accessible. An employment counsellor at CNIB encouraged me to use this as an opportunity to find something that I wanted to do. CNIB gave me the skills needed to make the necessary changes in my life and helped me to find a new career.”

My greatest source of strength

“When going through the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy, the operations, and then the realization that I was now going to go through the rest of my life with no sight, my then partner and now husband has been my greatest strength. He continues to be the glue that keeps the family together! With him, I have the assurance that as I climb each step to get to the top of a mountain I must overcome, he will be there to help me up the steps that are too big for me to get up on my own.”

My challenges

“I’ve had diabetes all of my life, so managing my condition was not a big issue for me. However, I am facing another complication of diabetes – I will need a kidney and pancreas transplant. So my biggest challenge is adhering to an even stricter diet and relying on sighted people to help me choose the right foods.”​​​​